So Firefox Quantum has arrived in earnest. This update is a massive improvement in almost every way – this version of Firefox really is faster, and it looks better too. I’m a huge fan of Firefox, and this update should do a good job allaying concerns about the browser’s performance. So… hooray, right?
Well, no. This is the cyberpunk hellscape of the late 2010s. Nothing related to technology, particularly web technology, can ever be good. You see, Firefox Quantum also introduced in-browser ads in the guise of so-called Pocket Recommendations.
This is part of a larger trend. Microsoft, for example, is always blazing new frontiers in being completely awful. The spread of substance-free “sponsored content” piggybacking on legitimate subject matter is a deeply awful and deeply harmful practice.
I spent some time ordering my thoughts (okay, social media whining) on the kind of software that spreads such “recommendations.” I’m introducing the term Askbar to describe them, named after the venerable Ask.com browser toolbar. I hope to use this post as a resource in the future. For now, it’s meant to be a “debate starter” more than anything else.
Continue reading Essay: On the eternal return of the Ask.com toolbar